Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 27, 2011Barnes County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at May 27, 2011, 4:55 PM CDT for Barnes County, North Dakota. It was in force for 50 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 27, 2011, 4:55 PM CDT (21:55 UTC)
Expired: May 27, 2011, 5:45 PM CDT
In force: 50 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Barnes County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 63 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:58 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 27, 4:55 PM CDT	TORNADO	10 N Valley City, ND	TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN TWICE. THERE IS STILL A FUNNEL CLOUD HANGING FROM THE STORM.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 216 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1017 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 15 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

188 
WFUS53 KFGF 272155
TORFGF
NDC003-272245-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0004.110527T2155Z-110527T2245Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
455 PM CDT FRI MAY 27 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN BARNES COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...

* UNTIL 545 PM CDT

* AT 453 PM CDT...STORM SPOTTERS OBSERVED AND NATIONAL WEATHER
  SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO. THE DANGEROUS STORM WAS
  LOCATED 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF BALD HILL DAM...OR 10 MILES NORTH
  OF VALLEY CITY. RADAR SHOWED THE  TORNADO WAS MOVING TO THE 
  NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  PILLSBURY AROUND 535 PM CDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A STURDY BUILDING.

&&

LAT...LON 4724 9781 4703 9771 4696 9803 4713 9814
TIME...MOT...LOC 2155Z 245DEG 13KT 4709 9795

$$

HOPKINS

1 follow-up statement

916 
WWUS53 KFGF 272215
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
515 PM CDT FRI MAY 27 2011

NDC003-272245-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0004.000000T0000Z-110527T2245Z/
BARNES ND-
515 PM CDT FRI MAY 27 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHEASTERN BARNES COUNTY
IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 545 PM CDT...

AT 512 PM CDT...THE TORNADIC STORM WAS LOCATED 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF 
PILLSBURY...OR 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF VALLEY CITY...MOVING TO THE 
NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL AFFECT MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF NORTHEASTERN BARNES
COUNTY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A STURDY BUILDING.

&&

LAT...LON 4701 9789 4716 9799 4724 9781 4703 9771
TIME...MOT...LOC 2214Z 245DEG 13KT 4712 9786

$$

HOPKINS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 27, 5:31 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Barnes, Cass	44 min
May 27, 5:51 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Barnes, Cass	24 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 2011 Every tornado warning in 2011 Tornadoes in 2011

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.